Dudley Pontifex

{{short description|English cricketer}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2016}}

{{Use British English|date=February 2016}}

{{Infobox cricketer

| name = Dudley Pontifex

| image =

| country = England

| fullname = Dudley David Pontifex

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1855|2|12|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Weston, Bath, Somerset, England

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1934|9|27|1855|2|12|df=yes}}

| death_place = West Dulwich, London, England

| batting = Right-handed

| bowling =

| role = Batsman

| club1 = Surrey

| year1 = 1881

| club2 = Somerset

| year2 = 1882

| club3 = MCC

| year3 = {{nowrap|1883–1896}}

| type1 = FC

| debutdate1 = 3 June

| debutyear1 = 1878

| debutfor1 = Gentlemen of England

| debutagainst1 = Oxford University

| lastdate1 = 19 May

| lastyear1 = 1896

| lastfor1 = MCC

| lastagainst1 = Essex

| columns = 1

| column1 = First-class

| matches1 = 17

| runs1 = 357

| bat avg1 = 13.73

| 100s/50s1 = 0/1

| top score1 = 89

| deliveries1 = 13

| wickets1 = 0

| bowl avg1 = –

| fivefor1 = –

| tenfor1 = –

| best bowling1 = –

| catches/stumpings1 = 3/–

| date = 11 July

| year = 2011

| source = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/3/3761/3761.html CricketArchive

}}

Dudley David Pontifex (12 February 1855 – 27 September 1934) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Surrey, Somerset and the Marylebone Cricket Club, plus other amateur sides, between 1878 and 1896.{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/3/3761/3761.html| title = Dudley Pontifex | publisher = www.cricketarchive.com | accessdate = 2011-07-04}} He was born at Weston, Bath, Somerset, and died at West Dulwich, London.

Pontifex was a right-handed middle-order or opening batsman. Educated in Bath, he appeared in a freshmen's trial match at Cambridge University but failed to make the first team; he did, however, win a Blue for billiards.{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Articles/1/1240.html| title = Brief profile of D.D. Pontifex | publisher = www.cricketarchive.com | accessdate = 2011-07-07}}

Appearing in minor cricket for amateur sides in Somerset and for Somerset County Cricket Club in non-first-class matches from 1877, Pontifex made his first-class cricket debut in 1878 against Oxford University for a Gentlemen of England side, and was successful neither in that nor in the South v North match that followed.{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/2/2178.html| title = Scorecard: Oxford University v Gentlemen of England| date = 1878-06-03 | publisher = www.cricketarchive.com | accessdate = 2011-07-07}} After university, Pontifex moved to London to qualify as a lawyer and in 1881 he appeared fairly regularly in first-class matches for Surrey. In the match against Nottinghamshire at The Oval, he opened the batting and scored 89; this was his only score of more than 50 in first-class cricket.{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/2/2488.html| title = Scorecard: Surrey v Nottinghamshire | date = 1881-07-21 | publisher = www.cricketarchive.com | accessdate = 2011-07-07}} This was his only season of regular cricket. In 1882, he made a single first-class appearance in Somerset's debut season as a first-class team. He then played for MCC irregularly, and only very occasionally in first-class matches, over the next 14 seasons until his final first-class match in 1896.

His obituary in The Times in 1934 stated that after the age of 45 he took up golf and "became a scratch player"; he was also known as a real tennis and billiards player.{{cite news| title = Obituaries: Mr D. D. Pontifex | newspaper = The Times |issue = 46874 | page = 19 | location = London | date = 2 October 1934 }}